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Internet scammer faces jail
24/12/2006 14:01 - (SA)
St Louis - US authorities scored a rare win against internet scammers this week when a Nigerian man in Texas pleaded guilty to helping steal $115 000 from a pair of brothers who were told they would receive millions of dollars from Nigeria.
Femi Ikuopenikan, 35, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Prosecutors said Ikuopenikan worked for a group of criminals who set up a bogus internet-based bank called Hallmark Trust Financial. The group engaged in what is commonly called a "Nigerian scam" or "419 fraud", for a section in the Nigerian criminal code.
Usually through e-mail, scammers tell potential victims they are Nigerian government officials or diplomats seeking to spirit money from the country and ask for money to cover taxes, fees or expenses, and typically receive nothing in return.
Nigerian officials rarely prosecute such cases because the "victims" were trying to defraud the Nigerian government. US officials are hamstrung because the scammers are typically operating overseas and hide their identities.
In this case, prosecutors said the scammers in 2003 convinced one of the brothers, referred to as "WO" in court documents, that he could earn $6.7m by transferring some money to the bogus bank, FBI agent Derek Schoon said in an affidavit.
Witnesses testified that the other brother, "DO", became involved later.
When the brothers became suspicious of the scheme, the scammers brought in Ikuopenikan, who was visiting Nigeria for a wedding, said defence attorney Richard Sindel.
Sindel, who called his client merely a foot soldier in the scam, said Ikuopenikan was to act as a diplomat bringing the money to St Louis, which the scammers thought would allay the brothers' fears.
But the FBI was already involved when Ikuopenikan attempted to get more money from the brothers, court documents said. He was arrested in Houston but fled to Canada after posting bail and was brought back to the US last month.
He will be sentenced in February, when he could face up to five years in prison and $250 000 in fines, but he is likely to get two years or less in prison, according to court documents.
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